“How to See More
Medical Patients
and
Make
More
Money By
Working
Hard... Not
Smart!”

(Part 1)

Important issues you
must consider first,
before wasting your
time and money
hoping that
increased patient
numbers
will save
your
ass… financially!

Any physician or
professional
healthcare provider
can increase their
income by seeing
more medical
patients each and
every day as you
well know... just
common sense... more
patients = more
income. It's
temporary...
burnout ends
it all!

Likely, medical
doctors in private
medical practice in
today’s lousy
economy are already
doing that, at least
to some degree, as
their response to
fee restrictions and
competition for
patients. However,
there are several
additional
profitable
approaches you can
use to ease the
stress on yourself
as well as stress on
your
office
personnel.

The idea is to see
increasingly more
patients over years
and years without
killing yourself in
the process. Is that
even possible? But,
if you’re willing to
take a beating and
work under
continuous
unrelenting stress,
you may need to use
these tools for
self-preservation.

About the only
reason doctors
choose to do this is
out of desperation
and for financial
reasons. However,
the most important
reason is that
doctors lack the
business knowledge
to do anything
else... or they would
be doing it… right?

Fact:Every smart doctor should be using
business and marketing strategies instead of beating a dead horse (working harder). But then, we all
make our choices... even when we are
forced to accept what we know is not the best choice (dictated by our circumstances) or is the
only option left that
our uninformed minds lets us see.

Several factors must
be considered that
make it easier to
increase your
patient load, work
harder, and hope the
income justifies the
effort.

1. Good office
communicationBy this time in your
medical practice
troublesome times
you are already
aware of the drop in
your practice income
and the threats it
presents to you.
It’s important to
gain employee
support and
agreement to work as
a team towards an
increased practice
income project or
their jobs may
disappear. You must
inform your office
staff what your
intentions are and
what their role in
the project will
be… and repeat it
often.

As part of the
effort, employees
must be told about
what you expect of
them. Some of those
factors are that
they...

Must improve
their
efficiency
of patient
management

Must accept
extra work
hours and a
variable
work
hour
schedule

Are
expected
to
maintain
their
friendly
and
professional
attitudes
even if in a
rush

May need
to work
over
lunchtime
or even
into the
evenings (no
overtime $)

Must
arrive
early to
work to
accomplish
preparations
for
the day

Their
extra
efforts
will be
compensated
for, but
no
promises
given
about
overtime pay
or increase
in salaries

If any
staff
member
refuses or
is unable
to comply,
they are
replaced... period!

Comments:

Be aware that your
office employees are
working only for
their own
benefits… not
yours. Employees
have their own
agendas and
lifestyle that is
more important to
them than their job
is. Having this in
mind, whenever you
interview a
potential employee,
it’s essential to be
very selective of
prospects
your hire.

Hire only those who
are agreeable with,
willing to comply
with, the business
rules you present to
them for the
accomplishment of
your goals for your
practice and how you
choose to have your
medical practice
run.

Your employees must
be convinced it is
critical to the
financial stability
of your practice and
their paychecks to
readjust their
personal agendas to
fit your
requirements
regardless of their
family and personal
situation. Never
assume
that they all
will bend to your
wishes.

You should start a
couple months early
to inform your
present employees of
the changes you
intend to make. It
permits them to find
another job if they
can’t or won’t fit
in to your plans. It
permits you to
recruit a more
suitable employee to
replace the ones who
leave.

This process
actually is a
perfect screening
procedure for
learning which
employees are loyal
to you, understand
why you are doing
what you have
told
them, and are
anxious to
participate actively
in this new venture.
These employees also
are those who trust
you when you promise
to compensate
them
for their extra hard
work on your
behalf.

Although it may be
hard to accept, you
have to be
comfortable at
replacing employees
because your whole
career and medical
practice business is
your
life and
livelihood. No
employee should be
allowed to interfere
with your
decisions.
I personally had
great difficulty
with this situation.
You don’t have
to be
liked… just
respected.

2. There’s the issue
of where all these
new patients are
going to be coming
from and how to
encourage old
patients to come
back more often.

Increase
the
results of
your
doctor
referral
system,
if
you have one

Entice
your old
patients
to refer
new
patients
to you

Promote
your
medical
practice
by being a
joiner,
participant,
in your
medical
community

Become
socially
known... charity
work,
speaking
to
community
groups,
teaching
various
groups
about
healthcare

Start a
patient
newsletter
on topics
your
patients
want
to know
about

Do things
in your
practice
for
patients
that no
other
doctors
locally
are
doing

Start a
local
newspaper
column
on
medical
topics

Use press
releases
or
newsletters
to promote
your new
skills,
treatments
you’ve
learned,
and
changes
to
your practice
focus... all
about how
you have
increased
your patient’s
benefits

Comments

When you do these
things, you are
marketing your
medical practice,
often
without even
recognizing it as
marketing
strategies.

Any doctor who has
made the decision to
increase their
practice income by
seeing more patients
is faced with
figuring out how to
get all those new
patients. Meaning,
it will be necessary
to go far beyond
their present and
already-being-used
efforts, if any,
to recruit new
patients.

Very few medical
doctors today are
significantly
involved in such an
important activity.
Most doctors have no
idea how to set up
and use a doctor
referral
system or
how to entice other
doctors to send
patients
to you.

After all, over 60%
of new patients you
get are doctor
referred patients
(Practice Surveys).
Wouldn’t that be an
important resource
to kiss up to?

The terrible mistake
most doctors make is
that they totally
neglect their old
and loyal patients,
while courting new
patients. Marketing
statistics have
demonstrated over
and over again that
a present customer
is far more
valuable
to their business
than new
customers... and cost
a lot less to keep
than trying to get a
new customer in the
door.

Another important
consideration is
that everyone is
looking for
knowledge about
something
today... none more so
than medical
patients. The fact
that doctors
are now
spending less time
with patients is the
primary reason a
doctor
should create
a newsletter for his
or
her patients.

It may be that a
newsletter
specifically for
your patients may be
far more important
to them, impact them
more, than their
annual checkup exam
or an
office visit
just for medical
advice. Your
newsletter feeds
your patients a
constant stream of
medical information
all year long, while
repeatedly
reminding
them that you
respect their needs
for health
advice... it keeps you
in
their minds.

Newsletters often
are much more
personal and
relationship
building than a
20
minute office visit
once a year. In
effect, you would be
doing some
marketing
for your practice without even paying
them to have it done.

In coordination with
your keeping your
patients informed
about medical
issues,
you should
keep them informed
about any new skills
you have learned and
how that can help
your patients in new
ways. This boosts
your patients desire
to refer friends,
family members,
church buddies, and
others to your
practice---because
you are showing them
that you are a
doctor that keeps up
with the newest
treatments and
skills for
their
benefit.

In the same manner,
after you open
yourself up to the
local community
interactions such as
volunteering to
speak at gatherings,
potential new
patients
in the
audience get a
unique personal
impression of you
that they might
never
get otherwise.
This prompts them to
join your practice.

This is all about
medical practice
marketing!
I’m telling you,
that even
when you
create your
increased patient
flow to earn more,
it directly involves
the use of marketing
your practice to
make it happen and
to make it
persistent. So,
if you can’t seem to
get away from the
idea of marketing
your medical
practice, why not
make it a commitment
to learn how to
market your practice
the right way, using
the right tools for
the
right reasons.

If your desire is to
get good patients,
this is the most
efficient way to
accomplish that. If
actual marketing of
your practice seems
like an impossible
task for you, then
call it something
else instead, like,
“patient
recruitment” or
“drilling for income
prospects” (kind of
a dental term I
should think).

Fact:You can’t increase your patient flow
without using one or more of the common
marketing strategies.

3. Judging the
limits you and your
office staff can
tolerate and still
persistently perform
at a top level...

How many
hours a
day can
you work
and avoid
making big
mistakes?

How much
work can
be pushed
onto your
staff
without
all of
them
moving
elsewhere?

How much
time will
it take
(not
whether it
will
happen)
for your
burnout to
occur?

Are you
willing to
compromise
your
family
life for
the sake
of
increasing
your work
load,
practice
income,
and
patient
flow?

Working
beyond
your
personal
mental and
physical
limitations
will
result in
errors and
worse.

Comments:

You can work hard
for a prolonged time
but there will be a
point in the near
future where you
will begin
backsliding, which
leads to burnout. To
prevent that you not
only have to be
aware of your own
vulnerabilities but
also those of your
employees who are
even more
susceptible to
burnout.

Employee burnout
means they up and
quit suddenly one
day. To avoid that
you have obligated
yourself to yet
another work load of
spending the time
and effort to keep
them motivated and
passionate about
your goals for your
practice. Do you
know how to inspire
people? You need
to use Tony Robbins
tactics.

You don’t really
believe that your
employees have the
same inspirational
mindset as you
do… right? Or, do
you?

You can be a martyr
for your career, but
your employees
pushed to work
harder and longer
each day aren’t.
Present day work
attitudes should
tell you that even
raising their
salaries would never
keep them around
long in this
circumstance.

Constantly keeping
employees happy in
their work, inspired
to function at high
levels, and willing
to work hard for you
for long periods,
takes a special rare
employee and a boss
that has the
capacity to do what
it takes to reach
medical practice
business goals. Your
pressure to
constantly learn and
improve didn’t end
when you finished
your training.

In my experience and
memories of doctors
running a “patient
mill,” working
harder rather than
smarter, rarely if
ever reach their
desired income
levels. If they do,
they have sacrificed
their family life,
health, and future
productivity. They
bring-on their own
catastrophes that
ultimately leave
them alone and
isolated from the
medical community in
one way or another.

(In the second half
of this topic, next
newsletter, I’ll
provide you with the
three most reliable
and profitable
methods to insure
that your “work
harder” philosophy
can be made to
elevate your medical
practice profits to
satisfactory
levels.)

The author, Curt Graham, M.D., an experienced physician, author, marketer and expert
in medical practice business and marketing strategies, is an expert author and inspirational
leader for medical professionals in the business world. He is a platinum expert author
with EzineArticles.com and has been published in Modern Physician and Medical Economics
Magazines. His three books have been published online.

If you intend
to, or are thinking about
dropping out of clinical
medical practice today, give
yourself one last chance to
fend off the causes
of
your
frustration.

Most private
practices that fail today are
caused by financial
deficiencies. Any doctor
facing this problem can
eliminate this disappointing
problem rather quickly by
using the advantages and tools
found in the process of
marketing your
medical business.

It doesn't
require years of education nor
millions of dollars you can't
afford. Not only can you do it
yourself (with some minimal
help), but also offers minimal
cost strategies a 12 year old
can do. It does require you
gain some reliable business
and marketing knowledge and
advice... which can be found on
this website. What you don't
know
can
harm you greatly.

ARTICLE---DAN
KENNEDY July 2012

THE SALESMAN AND THE BEAN
COUNTER

"Worriers and spellers can be
hired for
minimum wage."
--- James Tolleson

I won a couple "spelling bees"
when I was a kid, and I'm a
reasonably bright guy. But
unlessyou're going to teach English
lit, it turns out that mastery
of grammar and spelling is not
particularly important to most
careers or businesses. I get
letters from time to time
offering to edit everything
from my books and newsletters
to my sales letters, to
correct the grammar and syntax
or present a more erudite,
professional image-but these
letters always come from
people who have never had a
book published or never made
any serious money from
creating advertising.

You CAN
hire these folks for minimum
wage all day long. Most of
the highest income earners I
know have a few of these
people around.

The point, of course, is that
"perfection" and
"professionalism" as defined
and perceived by most people
has not one darned thing to do
with making a lot of money. It turns out that book
publishers all have editors
who can fix what you write -
what they need is somebody who
can come up with salable books
and then sell them. Ad
agencies can hire people to
fix grammar easily; what's
hard
to find is the guy who
can come up with something
like "They All Laughed
When I
sat Down At The Piano..." that
can actually sell something.

See,when
you have the ability to cause
people to jump up and part
with their money, you can hire
- or the world will ante up
and provide - people to run
around behind you and do
everythingfrom
fix your grammar to get your
laundry cleaned to mollifying
hotel managers after you've
trashed the
penthouse suite. This
tells you the one and only
business skill worth focusing
on, worth mastering. And
I can't tell you how happy I
am to have had that revelation
early in life.

As an aside, if you really
want to do your son or
daughter a favor, push them
into summer jobs in selling.
Even if they want to become
doctors or, God
forbid,
lawyers later, the most
valuable part of their entire
education will be the three
months spent selling in the
store, car dealership or door
to door. (Some years back, I
did a survey of 100
chiropractors with practices
earning at least $500,000.00 a
year; over 80 of them had
worked in direct sales, like
selling vacuum cleaners, fire
alarms, cookware, etc.)

Similarly, you can also hire a
bunch of pinheads and bean
counters to sit
around and
worry over every imaginable
detail and potential problem
for a
whole lot less than you
can make from the same time
selling or causing
sales. In
essence, it really doesn't pay
to worry! Hard to break the
worry
habit: most of us are
taught this habit by our
parents and have it deeply
imprinted in
our subconscious.

The best antidote or, at
least distraction though is
positive, productive,
proactive action. I do know
one entrepreneur who actually
hired a guy to
worry for him -
he pays him $35,000.00 a year.
Every morning he gives his
Vice-President of Worrying a
list of stuff to worry about,
and then he goes
on to focus
on selling and causing sales. This pretty much tells you
the only
two functions of
business worth investing your
time and energy in. And note
this: everybody who takes
your time or attention away
from those two things
is your
enemy.

DAN S. KENNEDYis
a serial, multi-millionaire
entrepreneur; highly paid and
sought after marketing and
business strategist; advisor
to countless first-generation,
from-scratch multi-millionaire
and 7-figure income
entrepreneurs and
professionals; and, in his
personal practice, one of the
very highest paid
direct-response copywriters in
America. As a speaker, he has
delivered over 2,000
compensated presentations,
appearing repeatedly on
programs with the likes of
Donald Trump, Gene Simmons
(KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs.
Fields Cookies), and many
other celebrity-entrepreneurs,
for former U.S. Presidents and
other world leaders, and other
leading business speakers like
Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and
Tom Hopkins, often addressing
audiences of 1,000 to 10,000
and up. His popular books
have been favorably recognized
by Forbes, Business Week, Inc.
and Entrepreneur Magazine. His
NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one
of the business newsletters
published for Members of
Glazer-Kennedy Insider's
Circle, is the largest paid
subscription newsletter in its
genre in the world.
https://gkic.infusionsoft.com/go/newmifge/drgraham